A Series of Lessons in Raja YogaAtkinson, William Walker
Religion
A Series of Lessons in Raja Yoga
Atkinson, William Walker
Yoga; Yoga, Raja
Now, faith or confident expectation is not made to order in most persons,
and in such cases one must acquire it gradually. Many of you who read
these lines will have an understanding of the subject that will give you
this faith. But to those who lack it, we suggest that they practice on
some trivial phases of the mental make-up, some petty trait of character,
in which the victory will be easy and simple. From this stage they should
work up to more difficult tasks, until at last they gain that faith or
confident expectation that comes from persevering practice.
The greater the degree of faith or confident expectation that one carries
with him in this task of character building, the greater will be his
success. And this because of well established psychological laws. Faith
or confident expectation clears away the mental path and renders the work
easier, while doubt or lack of faith retards the work, and acts as
obstacles and stumbling blocks. Strong Desire, and Faith, or confident
expectation are the first two steps. The third is Will-power.
By Will-power we do not mean that strenuous,
clenching-of-fist-and-frowning-brow thing that many think of
when they say "Will." Will is not manifested in this way. The
true Will is called into play by one realizing the "I" part of
himself and speaking the word of command from that center of
power and strength. It is the voice of the "I." And it is needed
in this work of character building.
So now you are ready for work, being possessed of (1) Strong Desire;
(2) Faith or Confident Expectation; and (3) Will-power. With such a
triple-weapon nothing but Success is possible.
Then comes the actual work. The first thing to do is to lay the track for
a new Character Habit. "Habit?" you may ask in surprise. Yes, Habit! For
that word gives the secret of the whole thing. Our characters are made up
of inherited or acquired habits. Think over this a little and you will
see the truth of it. You do certain things without a thought, because you
have gotten into the habit of doing them. You act in certain ways because
you have established the habit. You are in the habit of being truthful,
honest, virtuous, because you have established the habit of being so. Do
you doubt this? Then look around you--or look within your own heart, and
you will see that you have lost some of your old habits of action, and
have acquired new ones. The building up of Character is the building up
of Habits. And the changing of Character is the changing of Habits. It
will be well for you to settle this fact in your own mind, for it will
give you the secret of many things connected with the subject.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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